The present invention is related generally to amusement and entertainment electronic gaming and, more particularly, to a method and system for controlling the refills and for reconfiguring features of an amusement or entertainment electronic game having a virtual game cartridge.
Amusement and entertainment type electronic games have become very popular with the public and, as their popularity has increased, several states have legalized certain types of gaming but under heavy regulation. For example, skill-based amusement machines are permitted in some states. Generally, to qualify as a skill-based amusement machine, the outcome of play during the game must be controlled by the person playing the game and not by predetermined odds or random chance controlled by the machine. Some chance can be part of a skill-based amusement game, but skill must be the predominant feature. The play on the machine must involve a task, game, play, contest, competition or tournament in which the player actively participates.
With the increasing popularity of electronic games, the number of games that are copied and passed off as an original game has also increased dramatically. Unscrupulous persons in the electronic gaming industry have not only made illegal copies of game processor boards, but have also altered features of legally-installed electronic games by circumventing certain features of the game. For example, one feature that has been altered is that of limiting the plays of the game that are licensed by an operator to bypass the requirement for obtaining a new passcode to reactivate play after all licensed game plays have been used.
What is needed in the electronic gaming art are techniques that will ensure that only properly identified and licensed electronic games will receive a securely-generated passcode that will enable the operator to reset game plays on the licensed game and reconfigure the electronic game to meet the operator's requirements.